


Flow

by tikitikirevenge (openendings)



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Timelines, One Shot, Post-Game(s), The princess is not in another castle; the princess has gone on her own damn adventure.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4782923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/openendings/pseuds/tikitikirevenge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There may be more than one way to become a Sage of Water, but it takes a very certain kind of person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sister_dear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_dear/gifts).



> Disclaimer: This is unpolished. I came down with really bad cubital tunnel syndrome a few weeks into the contest, which made typing nigh-impossible, so I haven't been able to do nearly as much writing/editing/etc on this as I would have liked :(
> 
> That said, I'm still really excited about this piece! My prompt for this fic was to show Zelda adventuring, and it gave me an opportunity to explorer something I'd always wondered about the ending of Ocarina of Time: what kind of hero would Zelda grow up into now that she hadn't been driven into hiding in the first place?

> Time passes, people move. Like a river's flow, nothing ends.  
>  —"Hymn of Third Sage", _Book of Mudora_  
> 

* * *

The hurried footsteps grew louder until, all of a sudden, a door burst open noisily from somewhere overhead. A breathless shout echoed down to where Ruto stood:

"Monsters!"

Ruto looked around the upper levels of the aqueduct, finally spotting the source of the voice on the _other side_ of the cavern.

"How in the world did you get over _there_?" she said, mouth agape.

"No time for that! They're right behind me!"

Zelda was already climbing the ladder back to ground level much faster than looked safe. Her movements were awkward, and when Ruto looked closer she saw something long and rigid wedged between Zelda's bow and her back, getting in the way of her legs as she went.

Ruto snatched up Zelda's satchel from the ground. "What kind of monsters? How many?"

"Bugs! Giant bugs!" Zelda jumped the last few feet of the ladder, and jogged towards Ruto, her hunting moccasins sloshing awkwardly in the ankle-deep water. "Four or five, I think. Too many to fight."

"How many legs..." began Ruto, then stopped as she heard the telltale pattering of Tektites from the direction Zelda had come. "...never mind. How big?"

Zelda ran straight past her without even attempting to grab his satchel. The item on her back, Ruto saw, was a staff of some kind , and it seemed to be weighing her down considerably.

She grabbed her spear, slung the satchel over her back, and joined her friend in running.

"Where are we going?" said Ruto. 

"You know water bugs, you tell me!"

"Um..." Ruto chanced a glance behind her and immediately regretted it; the Tektites had jumped down level with them and they were taller than her and Zelda combined. "Oh gods!... We have to find a choke point. We can take them if they're single file."

Zelda was silent, and for a few awful seconds Ruto started to wonder if maybe she'd been lying when she said she'd committed Impa's maps to memory.

Then, she spoke, sounding resolute.

"All right. This way!"

* * *

When the last of the Tektites had fallen, Zelda dropped her bow to one side and leant forward, hands on her knees. The poor girl looked exhausted.

"Everything okay there?" said Ruto.

"I'm fine," said Zelda. "I'm not built for sprinting, is all. You?"

"Also fine," Ruto said. "But what's your bag made of, sandpaper? The stupid thing's been rubbing my skin raw, I swear."

"Well, there's your mistake. Clothes would be pretty helpful." Zelda flashed her a grin.

Ruto whacked the satchel into Zelda's arms. "Hey, not my fault! You said I might need to swim."

"Well, you still might. The maps show the Water altar in the middle of a lake." Zelda stood, wiping her hands on her trousers to no avail. "Speaking of which, let's try that door near the entrance again. I have a hunch that this sceptre will help us get it open."

She handed Ruto the staff, and Ruto regarded it carefully. It was lighter than she'd thought. Its brass handle was green with rust, but the strange fist-sized gem at its end looked entirely untouched by time.

"Magic?"

Zelda nodded. "Remember the 'Kraken's Wand' those notes mentioned? I'd bet the royal stables this is it. The dais it was on was covered in octorok imagery."

"Octopus," Ruto corrected her. "Good work finding it! How does it work?"

"I have absolutely no idea," said Zelda. "Let's figure it out."

"You _did_ say we have to be back by sunrise before anyone notices. That hardly leaves us with much time for experimenting..."

Zelda frowned. "We still have a couple hours before that needs to happen..."

"I'm just saying," said Ruto. "Do you want to stop and take it back to Impa to study it? We can sneak out again on my father's next visit. It should only be another four or five weeks."

"We have a couple of hours," Zelda repeated. "There's no harm in trying."

"Okay. But if this is a waste of time, you owe me."

* * *

River rapids had always been Ruto's element. On the rare days she was able to get out of her father's sights and the endless stream of tutors and diplomatic visitations and all that, she would take herself down to one of the fast moving streams just downstream of Zora's domain. Watched by a trusted royal guardsman, she would dive in and follow the water down. No swim was ever the same as any other: the streams metamorphosed with every rainstorm and passing season.

You could learn a lot about yourself by watching how your body moved through the flow of the river. Jagged rocks and clusters of coral appeared through the fog of bubbles split seconds ahead. There was no time for thought, only instinct. With each new obstacle, Ruto would twist her fins ever so slightly and arc just around them, rocks and logs flashing past her with a fishbone's breadth to spare. There was something meditative about it: just her, the drone of the churning water, her mind and her body and the currents around her melding together into a sense of unitary purpose -- to move with the flow, to carry and be carried through the shifting slipstreams. Five minutes riding the rapids and she could feel her own existence with the utmost clarity, a grain of silt swept up in greater forces, drifting neither passively nor with enmity but working _with_ the current, the flow, the movement, the wonder.

More than the safety of her palace bedroom, the rapids felt like _home_.

It was after one such afternoon that Ruto saw the carriage. She and her retinue were trekking overland to a calmer river for the return journey upstream, when her guard stopped and pointed it out to them, sitting alone in the clearing ahead.

The carriage was an oddity: just by looking Ruto could tell it was exquisitely crafted, the most reliable money could buy. But it bore no markings: no diplomatic seal, no trading company logos.

The window to the carriage slid open and a familiar pair of eyes looked out.

"Princess Ruto!" called Zelda. "We request an audience."

Ruto waved to her guard to stand down. "What on earth are you doing _here_?"

Zelda swung the door open and beckoned. "It's a private matter. Come in and I'll explain!"

Ruto laughed. She was _fifteen_ , what kind of stupid fry did the Hylians take her for? "I'd rather not be kidnapped, if you please."

"We have no intention of starting a war, your Highness," said an older woman from behind Zelda. Her face was shrouded in shadow. "We mean you no harm."

Ruto studied Zelda's face. The Hylian princess seemed earnest, and they were reasonably good friends. If it _was_ a trap, Zelda wasn't in on it...

"I should add," the older woman continued, "that had we wanted to harm you, we'd have done so by now. Your security is somewhat... lax."

" _Pleeease_ ," said Zelda.

Curiosity got the better of Ruto.

"Not a word to my father about this," she told her guard, and approached.

* * *

Ruto was starting to run out of ideas for how to activate the sceptre -- tapping it against various objects, moving it's through the air in different directions and at different speeds -- and nothing seemed to be having any effect.

"Are you sure you don't want to try?" she asked again.

"It has to be you," said Zelda. "This entire site is a test for the ascending Sage of Water, and this is part of it. At least, that fits the pattern with Darmani."

"Oh? What happened with Darmani?"

"There was a test for him as well," said Zelda. "A magic runestone too heavy for most Gorons to lift, even the bodyguards he'd brought with him. And they were _huge_. Twice his size. But he alone could lift it. It responded to his touch like a feather."

"What did the runestone do?"

In the corner of her eye, she saw Zelda shudder.

"...something scary?" Ruto said, looking gingerly at the sceptre.

"It warded off flames," said Zelda.

"That doesn't sound that bad..."

"Picture the kind of passage where you'd _need_ such a spell to cross safely."

"...ah."

That _did_ explain Zelda's unusually short haircut, though Ruto decided it was wisest not to say as much.

"Anyway," Zelda continued, "Darmani said that to activate the rune stone he had to picture himself and the stone 'turning into flame'. So it stands to reason..."

"...I have to imagine myself as... one with water?" A memory of rough waters flashed through Ruto's mind's eye, and she smiled. "I can make that work."

* * *

"Me, the sage of water?" Ruto searched Zelda's face for a hint of mirth, but found none. "Zelda, you can't be serious. The sages of old were mages, warriors, scholars. I've barely even started training as a _diplomat_."

They sat across from each other in the confines of the carriage. Impa, Zelda's bodyguard, sat next to her, eyes flitting steadily between the windows.

"It's more about your character than about any specific training," Zelda said. "One of the early Sages of Shadow was a peasant when he ascended. Illiterate. But that didn't stop him from playing a very important role in the Mist Wars..."

Ruto cut her off. "Okay, point conceded. But why me? My father could easily recommend you a dozen Zoras fit for the task. _Full-grown_ , I might add."

"Because I need someone I can trust," Zelda said simply.

Ruto paused to consider this. 

The situation Zelda had described was a paranoid one. Ganondorf may have been executed several years prior, but now his co-conspirators were coming out of the woodwork. ("Allies, pawns... They might have been directionless after he died, but it looks like they're starting to make their own plays.") Ruto already knew that the ice beast sightings near her people's Domain had doubled in the last few months, and to this Zelda had added other worries: rumours of witch covens moving in near the forest border, money trails that suggested the nobles were amassing their own private armies...

All considered, awakening a new line of Sages to defend Hyrule certainly made _sense_ , but all this cloak and dagger was another thing entirely.

"So you think my father is untrustworthy?" Ruto said, a little more stiffly than she'd intended.

"Not at all! But we need as few people as possible to know. And I trust you more."

Ruto opened her mouth to retort and stopped, suddenly realising that Zelda, too, was out in the middle of nowhere with only a single bodyguard.

"You don't trust your _own_ father?"

"Well... I don't trust his court. Impa tells me his advisors have been quietly directing resources away from little things that would help us. Funding for light magic schools, army inspections... And if any of them catch wind of this..." Zelda dropped her eyes. 

Ruto leant forward and placed a hand on her friend's arm. "I understand. For his safety and yours." 

(When they'd been younger, Zelda had always flinched at the scaly touch of Ruto's hand. Now, she smiled gratefully.)

At length, Ruto sat back. "I'll help," she said. "If I can. But first, I do have one very important question."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Don't you have to _die_ to be a sage?"

"Well, normally, yes. But it turns out there's a second way..."

* * *

Even after figuring out how to activate the sceptre, it took them a little while to figure out exactly what it _did_. The "Kraken's Wand" turned out to reverse the flow of water. This seemed unimpressive when they tried it on the shallow water that they'd been walking through, but a few minutes later they were both staring in awe as Ruto dipped the end of the sceptre into a running stream beneath a water wheel and the wheel _itself_ started moving the other way as the current changed.

"I wonder whether this would work in the ocean," Ruto remarked. "I imagine sailors would pay good money for us to direct the waters."

Zelda laughed. "Perhaps we should go try that sometime," she said. "I've always wanted to see the ocean for myself."

"You've never been?" said Ruto.

"There are none close enough to Hyrule. But one day, hopefully."

With the help of the sceptre, they were able to make their way deeper into the catacombs. As Zelda had hinted, the route to the altar was set up as a test of one's ability to use the sceptre. As if using it once wasn't enough to prove she was a bona fide Sage of Water, Ruto grumbled.

None of it was particularly vexing. The sceptre cleared a flock of jellyfish from their path; it held back a torrential jet of water long enough for them to press on upstream. A few passages seemed to be designed to test how long a human could hold their breath to flip a submerged lever, which seemed a little silly considering every Sage of Water Ruto knew of had been a Zora. All in all, she found the deeper reaches were much more pleasant to explore than the Tektite-infested upper levels.

Until...

"This waterfall was not on the map," said Zelda.

Ruto peered over the edge. The bottom looked dangerously shallow; the water broke noisily over large rocks.

They both regarded the descent in silence for a while.

"Do you suppose," Zelda said, "that if you timed the sceptre right, we'd be able to descend safely?"

Ruto gingerly dipped the end of the sceptre into the water, feeling its response. "Maybe," she said. "It would be... delicate. We'd have to go one at a time."

 _And you'd be putting your life in my hands_ , she thought nervously.

"Hmm," said Zelda.

After a moment, the Hylian princess unslung her satchel and stepped towards the water.

"Toss my things to me once I'm down there, please," she said. "I'd rather not get the notes wet."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" said Ruto. She willed the sceptre to life, slowing the water around Zelda as she waded in.

Zelda laughed nervously. "How about we don't ask that question?" she said, grimacing.

Ruto returned the nervous smile. "Don't leave the water until you're at the bottom, okay?"

"I know."

"All right. Take a deep breath."

The sceptre glowed in her hands, and, slowly but surely, the flow of water resumed. Seconds later, Zelda disappeared over the edge.

* * *

Just before she stepped out of the carriage, Ruto paused.

"Is there a problem?" Zelda asked.

"You said you trust me more than you trust my father," she said. "Why? Because we played together as kids?"

"Do you remember that... soothsayer... that I told you about?"

"Of _course_. The one who helped you prove Ganondorf's guilt, right?"

"The very same. Well, in the dark future that he helped me prevent, where Ganondorf's bid for power succeeded... He told me you were important."

 _This_ Ruto hadn't heard before. "Important how?"

"I'm sketchy on some of the details," Zelda said, "but from what I gather, Ganondorf delivered your people an ultimatum. Bow to him, or die. Your father would have agreed to his terms to save your people. But you usurped his throne. Under your watch, the Zoras resisted Ganondorf where many others didn't."

"...oh."

"Suffice to say -- it's not that I don't trust your father to do the right thing. It's that I trust you more than you could possibly believe."

* * *

"Goddesses," Ruto said, "this is beautiful."

"I'll say," said Zelda.

Unlike the rest of the catacombs, this chamber was full of light, crystals on the ceiling glowing in a multitude of colours and casting the room as bright as day. The room was round, with a lake a few hundred feet wide in its centre. Ruto couldn't see the bottom, but its surface glistened invitingly and she was tempted to jump in and explore.

"So this is it?"

This is definitely the place," said Zelda. "See that?" She pointed to the far side of the chamber, where a six-pointed symbol was cast on the wall, a glittering mosaic of pink and blue sea-shells stretching from floor to ceiling.

Ruto nodded. "The Sigil of Water."

"Exactly," said Zelda. "The altar chamber I visited with Darunia had the Sigil of Fire on the far wall."

"Where's the altar, then?"

"I... don't know."

Before they could do anything else, the cavern walls began to shake with a deep, ominous rumble.

"A cave-in?" said Zelda. She half-turned, looking ready to run.

"No," said Ruto, spotting movement beneath the lake's surface. "In the water."

The rumbling metamorphosed into a deep animal noise somewhere between a roar and a whale call. Instinct sent Ruto a few steps back, dragging Zelda with her.

The surface of the lake exploded, and a giant creature shot out of the cacophonous spray of water.

It was impossibly large, big enough to swallow even a great fish spirit like Jabu-Jabu whole. Its shape and colouration was the white and red of royal koi, but the long tentacles whipping out from its fins reminded Ruto more of jellyfish stingers. It roared as it soared through the air, revealing long, crystalline teeth that looked sharper than any fish bone. As it neared the height of the cavern and began to arc back down, she saw its three eyes, right, left, and centre, glow impossibly brightly.

Ruto eyed it nervously as it splashed back down beneath the water. "I've never seen anything like that before," she said. "Do you know anything about it?"

There was no response.

"Zelda...?" she repeated.

She turned to look at her companion. The human princess stood rigid, lips quivering. Her knuckles were white where they gripped her bow.

"Impa told me there would be monsters," Zelda stammered, "but I... I never imagined..."

The surface of the water was turbulent now, waves crashing into one another. Ruto couldn't see any sign of the giant fish but she had no doubt it wouldn't let them find the ascension altar in peace.

"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this, Ruto," said Zelda. "I wasn't expecting this much danger."

Ruto spotted the beast again, spiralling up towards them from the depths. A trail of bubbles marked its path; others, further away from it, almost seemed to hold still where they were.

 _Like a whirlpool_ , she thought. There was a part of her that was already seeing it, the interplay of vortices and waves against the ragged edges of the lake and the rock formations beneath.

"Ruto?" said Zelda's voice, but it was already distant.

River rapids had always been Ruto's element. The rush of water, seeing herself as a grain of silt tossed and thrown around by the currents.

But that was the thing -- _everyone_ was silt amid the currents. Everyone was at the mercy of the waves. She was small but so was everyone else. And unlike the beast before them, she _knew_ she was small.

The Kraken's wand sat in her hand, warm with possibility.

"If I can get it to hold still," Ruto said, "can you blind it? An arrow to the eyes?"

Zelda gave her an odd look. "I... yes, I think so. But how are you going to...?"

"I think I understand now," said Ruto, and already she could feel the sceptre responding to her touch. "The Sage of Water's mantle... You can call upon the tides, but you'll never have dominion over them."

The beast's head resurfaced at a distance, its eyes glinting at them hungrily.

"And so I think... I think that the Sage of Water's job is to meet the water as an equal. And that's what I have to do now. Do you... do you trust me? When I say that we can do this?"

Zelda exhaled slowly. Her shoulders softened. "I trust you," she said. She nocked an arrow. "I'm ready."

"Then watch closely. I'm going to show you the ocean."

Ruto leapt into the lake, sceptre first, and the beast roared and the waves danced and water opened up and, once again, she was home.


End file.
